The Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly reached a jaw dropping seven year deal with starting pitcher Aaron Nola that is reportedly worth between $170 million to $175 million, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
The Phillies and Aaron Nola have now reached a tentative agreement on a 7-year contract worth $170-$175 million. Nola is undergoing a physical today before the deal becomes official. Talks between the Phillies and agent Joe Longo picked up steam the last two days.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 19, 2023
Contract talks between the two sides apparently began to pick up over the past couple of days, according to Nightengale.
If the numbers hold, the $25 million per year the contract averages out to would make Nola one of the highest paid pitchers in the league on a yearly basis. He’d still be behind the likes of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer in terms of average annual value, but both of those pitchers received short term deals as opposed to the reported seven years Nola is getting.
The 2018 NL All Star now returns to the only major league team he’s ever played for. Over the course of his nine year career in Philadelphia he’s hurled 1,422 innings with a 3.72 earned run average while striking out an impressive 1,582 batters, per Baseball Reference. (RELATED: Atlanta Braves Give Up On Michael Soroka After Injuries Derail His Career)
The market setting contract is the first major agreement of the free agency period, one in which a number of big name stars appear set to change teams.
While $175 million certainly ain’t chump change, it pales in comparison to what Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are projected to get.
League consensus is that Yamamoto will get a contract north of $200 million, according to the New York Post’s John Heyman. Newly minted AL MVP Ohtani could get more than double that.
For Philadelphia it seems like a bargain to bring back a starter who has helped lead them deep into the playoffs two years in a row. For teams hoping to add starting pitching that don’t have the funds to compete with the likes of the Yankees and the Dodgers for Ohtani’s services, the signing marks one less option on their free agency big board.